The present invention relates generally to headrests for seats. More particularly, the invention concerns a fully adjustable headrest for use in connection with furniture and with passenger vehicles such as aircraft, trains and busses.
Various types of headrests for use in passenger vehicles have been suggested in the past. As the general rule, these headrests are designed primarily to satisfy safety aspects rather than to provide a comfortable seating posture. Typically, the prior art vehicle headrests comprise only a vertically adjustable head support member designed to provide protection against injury in the event of an accident. However, some vehicle headrests have also been provided with lateral headrest elements. Exemplary of such a headrest is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,091 issued to Rech et al.
In addition to passenger vehicle headrests, a number of headrests have been designed for use in a emergency vehicles. These types of headrests are of a more complicated design and some include greater adjustability features. Exemplary of these types of headrests are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,462 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,749 both issued to Pond et al.
Even more complex headrests have been designed for use in military aircraft and, more particularly in military aircraft for use in conjunction with ejection seats. Typical of this class of headrest design are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,243 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,961 both issued to Herndon. Another such headrest design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,662 to issued to McDonald et al.
In addition to the development of headrests for use in military aircraft, significant advances have been made in recent years in the design of headrests for use in commercial aircraft. Many of these headrests are designed for personal comfort and include pivotally movable back and lateral supports. In these latter types of headrests, the head support members are typically slidably mounted on spaced apart rods that extend upwardly from the back of the seat and rely on friction to maintain the headrest in an elevated position.
As will become clear from the discussion that follows, the headrests of the present invention represents a substantial improvement over the prior art headrests and provide significantly greater adjustability and therefore greater support and comfort to the user.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable headrest that provides both support and comfort to the user and can be used in connection with furniture including household and office furniture and also in connection with various types of passenger vehicles.
Another object of the invention is to provide a headrest of the aforementioned character that includes slide means for permitting easy height adjustment of the headrest and also includes locking means for securely locking the headrest in a desired elevated position.
Another object of the invention is to provide easily adjustable, wing like, side support members that are pivotally connected to a centrally located, vertically adjustable head support member by means of constant torque hinges.
Another object of the invention to provide easily adjustable chin support members that are pivotally connected to the side support members by means of constant torque hinges.
Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable headrest construction of the character described that includes strategically positioned comfort cushions for engagement by the user""s neck, head and chin.
Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable headrest construction of the type described in the preceding paragraphs in which the cushions are readily inflatable and deflatable.
Another object of the invention is to provide a headrest construction of the class described that is of a simple construction and one that can be inexpensively produced and easily installed.